I Bought A Bike

I reckon I do around 60k's per week on my bike and for the sake of this post let us say I ride for a full 45 weeks each year.  I have had my current "Fuji" bike for almost three years now so I have probably ridden it for at least 7,000 kilometres, most likely a lot more.  Like all things the bike will begin to wear out.  The crank assembly wears, the brake wires and gear wires begin to stretch and it could be that one's safety is put at risk.  The chain 'stretches' and can make changing gears difficult or the chain could just slip!

I have been keeping my eyes open for a replacement bike and naturally I was looking something 'on special'.  I had previously purchased from Goldcross Cycles which is an Australia wide bike shop chain.  Recently Goldcross had merged with Amart Sports.  The range of bikes to check out at our local Amart Sports shop has fallen since the merger with fewer bikes available and fewer good deals.

Our local Anaconda store had one of their 'base' brand bikes on special.  The advert said it was $599 knocked down to $299 for Christmas.  It had all the features I wanted as well as 'disk' brakes.  For me this was a deal clincher as the ability to stop quickly is imperative for me.  The make of bike is "Fluid" which has mixed reviews.  I read where some people use their Fluid bikes in triathlons so that was good enough for me.

I picked it up yesterday (Friday) and spent parts of the day, mainly during breaks in the third Test from Perth, setting it up.

The seat on the Fuji bike is called ' a comfort seat' so that has been moved over to the new bike.  The carry box I have on the back for various bits and pieces required modification to fit properly on the new bike so that was done as well.  Then there was the bike speedometer to move over.

It is imperative to have a good bell on the bike especially when riding on shared footpaths.  The original bell on the new bike is a 'flick' style and they just don't work properly!

Eventually I was able to replace the bell as well.  The handle bars on the Fluid bike are quite chubby and thick as the photo above shows if you click on it for a larger view.  This made fitting the bell and the 'speedo' difficult as both had been designed for a standard diameter handlebar.  But we got there eventually.

Our week has been busy finalizing things prior to heading to Melbourne on Tuesday of next week.  Over the next few days I will pack some things away in the backyard for our trip down south.  The Waeco needs to come inside, the pool filter needs to be cleaned, the front lawn mowed and other things 'stored away' in case of a storm.

Trish had her final "Stitchers" day on Wednesday with a special Christmas Lunch.  Trish had a minor procedure on Thursday and wasn't feeling up to "Quilters" on Friday.  Computer Club finishes up for the year today for me. So 2013 is slowly but surely coming to a close.

My final 'brew' for 2013 was bottled yesterday.  My supplies for 2014 are now all well in hand.

I have gained a couple of Balcony Passes for Day 4 of the Melbourne Test.  Eddie has expressed an interest in going so that means one has been spoken for!